Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Three hour workout?????

I was at the gym the other day when I ran into a member who I have been trying to get to take a kettlebell class. I asked her if she was going to take our class that day."I can't," she said. "I'm tired from the classes I took this morning."I asked her what she had done."I took an hour of body pump, ran on the treadmill for an hour and did a cardio abs class," she responded.I asked her why she needed three hours of exercise."I like to eat," was her response."Okay, so do I. But I also like to do other things. Such as spend three hours of my life somewhere other than the gym.This woman routinely spends two to three hours every day in the gym, doing the same old 1980s workouts. And you know what, she hasn't lost an ounce of weight. (To be fair, she hasn't gained anything either.)Let's do the math: 2 hours a day for 350 days is 700 hours a year. 3 hours is 1050 hours. She spends between 700 and 1000 hours a year in the gym, and is achieving nothing.Can you think of a better way to spend that time? (Hint: a week is 168 hours).Can you think aof a better way to work out?The polar opposite of that is one of my students, Jon. Jon takes three classes a week from Buckeye Kettlebells. Three 45 minute classes. Less than 3 hours a week. (To be fair, he also swings kettlebells at home once or twice a week -- even at 5 hours a week, he is still under 250 hours for the year)Jon has lost more than 60 pounds since January 1. Jon is stronger and more flexible than he has ever been. He has also gotten many compliments about his transformation.Jon spends his extra 500 hours riding his Gold Wing, cooking, and tending his garden.Who would you rather be?Don't take too long thinking about it. You only have 499 more hours to ponder.